Damian Lillard did not have the best of games on Thursday night as the Milwaukee Bucks coasted to a 111-99 victory over a struggling Charlotte Hornets side at the Spectrum Center. It wasn’t a terrible outing by any means for the eight-time All-Star, but he was once again inefficient from the field, going 5-of-14 from the field for 17 points.
While it’s Dame’s offense that the Bucks have relied on throughout the season, it’s his contributions on the defensive end that have also highlighted his importance to the squad of late.
For his part, Giannis Antetokounmpo logged a 24-10 double-double, with five assists and two triples. After the game, the Bucks talisman was vocal on how Lillard (and backcourt partner Malik Beasley) came up big time on the defensive end against Charlotte:
“They have to, they have to,” Antetokounmpo said of Lillard and Beasley being effective point-of-attack defenders, via Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We’re going to be at our best when they have to. They can’t get screened. In our previous years when we were a good defensive team we had guys that was really hard to get screened.
“But that was a secret. We had guys that was very hard for them to get screened and they put pressure on the ball. Whenever Beas and Dame they’re out there pressuring the ball, fighting through screens, using their hands, they get deflections and not allow a pocket pass, like when they do their job it’s easier for the defense behind. We need them to keep on doing that. That’s when we are at our best.”
The cat’s out of the bag. As Giannis said, the Bucks now expect Lillard (and Beasley) to play bigger roles on the defensive end, which obviously, has been the biggest issue for this team throughout the season. Lillard isn’t going to completely fill the void that Jrue Holiday left when he left the team this summer, but Dame will have to play an integral role on the defensive end if Milwaukee is to go and win it all this year.
Lillard will do his thing on offense every night but as Antetokounmpo said, a lot of his value will also come in helping out defensively. That’s when the Bucks are at their best.
